Archives: November 2010

OK. I know some of you readers work for the Labor government or are Party members and are people I like and respect. So, this may cause pain to a few of you, and I apologise for that in advance. If you’re a “labor insider”, you might like to stop reading now. Alternatively, you might gain some pointers as to why you’re losing so many votes to the Greens.

I’ve never been a swinging voter. From the time I was old enough to vote I was a rusted-on Labor voter. Rusted on. Here are just a few of the reasons I won’t be voting for them in the next State election and why I haven’t been able to do so for some time.

PSA: Tess McKenna and the Shapiros won’t be playing at the Lomond hotel on the 12th – yes, I got the date wrong as well – but it’s still worth going to see Aintree Sweet featuring Jen Anderson and Barb Waters.

Your original remark was criticised in the media, and you want to get out of it by claiming you’re just a naive retiring type set up by the wicked interviewer? No. Without minimising the tendency of the media to beat things up, you’re a highly paid media megastar, if you hadn’t noticed. Here’s part of the quotation so everyone knows what we’re talking about:

“I feel sorry for straight men. The only reason women will have sex with them is that sex is the price they are willing to pay for a relationship with a man, which is what they want,”

a lot of your female and/or feminist fans, who love you loved you and see you saw you in many ways as an ally, won’t just point out the wrongness of it – they’ll be hurt and sad. But of course, only your hurt matters. (Oh, and comparing people’s responses to rape? Bonus arsehat points.)

The gist of your latest post – all four pages of it – seems to be that of course you didn’t really think that. In which case, the appropriate response would seem to be “I’m really sorry I made that arseholish remark, I was being flippant and a bit sarcastic and I don’t really hold that view. I can quite understand why being described as cold, calculating manipulators is insulting to women, as well as inaccurate.” What you have said – “there are people out there who actually swallow the notion that I am so stupid as to believe that women don’t enjoy sex. That I not only believe it but that I am dense, dotty and suicidally deluded enough to make a public declaration of such a crazed belief…” doesn’t really cut it as an apology. Because you did kinda, sorta say it, didn’t you? And not only on that occasion.

Just to demonstrate exactly how Boganette “attacked” you, here’s a copy of the offending tweet:

BoganetteNZ: @stephenfry PLEASE tell me you were misquoted and you don’t actually believe this http://bit.ly/aNjbuT

Oh, that’s right, not an attack at all. Just a request for clarification from someone obviously presenting themselves as a fan who’s confused because you’ve unexpectedly retailed a cliche from Misogyny Central.

You flounced, retweeted one person’s comment to everyone to offer her up as some kind of scapegoat although her tweet was perfectly civil, and you didn’t expect such a pile-on? I’m going to take a thought for a walk here, and I agree to own it fully (feed, de-worm and throw bones to it) if I’m wrong. Perhaps you flounce to elicit a storm of praise from your blog commenters and pile-ons on your opponents. This makes you feel loved. It’s a pattern of behaviour not unknown in the blogosphere, and not one I admire.

You should put your big man-pants on and own your own words – and apologise to Boganette.